Freedom Forges New Bonds
by JessieBWriting
Summary: How Mel met the first lion in her life. Takes place one month after "We're the only family we need". I do not own the world of Dragon Age. Though that would be cool.


**Note: Mel's story begins in "We're the only family we need"**

Mel kept watch from above the smugglers' camp as they prepared to settle for the night. She paid close attention to the wagon that contained their goods and her target, making note of the man who appeared to be given guard duty. The sun would set soon and if the amount of liquor she saw earlier was any indication, all but the man on guard duty should be passed out drunk in no time.

Satisfied with her plan, Mel settled herself in the tree and waited.

Sure enough, about an hour after the sun had set, only the guard was wake. Mel silently climbed out of the tree and quickly made her way around the camp until she was behind the guard. She reached into a pouch at her side and took a pinch of the powder within it. She tapped the guard on the shoulder and when he spun around, surprise on his face and his hand reaching for his weapon, she blew the powder into his face. Immediately taking affect, he collapsed.

 _Sweet dreams, asshole._ Stepping over the body, she climbed into the wagon and looked for her target. She could hear a faint mewling and slowly made her way forward until she found the source of the noise.

In the cage, lying on its side was the red lion cub. The day before, she had first seen the smugglers in the tavern of a small village, bragging amongst themselves about the cub. Apparently when they had been traveling through the Frostback Mountains, they had come across a recently killed female red lion and discovered her den close by. Only one of the cubs was still alive and they were planning on trying to sell the poor thing to the highest bidder. Angered at hearing their plans, Mel decided to rescue the small beast.

She wasn't surprised by to see that the cub was larger than a fully grown household cat. She had read stories about red lions and knew that they could grow to be ten feet long from head to tail and easily weigh over 600 pounds. Upon seeing her, the cub stopped mewling and its tail began to thrash about, a sure sign that it wasn't exactly happy to see her.

"Don't you bite me now," she said softly as she began working on the cage's lock. "Those drunks will be out for a while but my knockout powder will only last so long." The feline watched her every move with golden eyes, still lying in its side. "I normally have a stronger batch on me, but I ran out a few days again and haven't gotten around to making another." There was a click and lock gave away. She swung open the cage door and stared at the cub, who still hadn't moved. She reached a hand in but stopped when the creature gave a warning growl.

"Listen, I'm trying to help you out and we don't have much time. So you can either work with me here or stay in this cage." When the cub didn't make another sound, she gently picked it up. She felt her anger grow at how easily she felt the feline's bones through the soft fur and how light it was. "Those bastard haven't even bothered to feed you have they?" She lifted the flap of her satchel and placed the creature within, making sure it was comfortable. Once the cub was secured, she made her way out of the wagon.

Glad to see that the guard was still out, she jumped from the wagon and took off into the woods, the shadows swallowing her whole. When the smugglers all came to in the morning and discovered that their prize was gone, they killed the man when he couldn't tell them who had taken the cub.

Once Mel was a safe distance from the smugglers, she slowed her pace and searched for a place to camp herself. She found a cave that was thankfully empty and took the cub out of her satchel. She place the creature on the ground and went about making a fire. When she got a nice blaze going, she set up her bedroll and set her weapons next to it. She saw that the cub was still in the cave and hadn't run off. In fact, it was once again lying on its side, just watching her.

"If you clearly hadn't eaten in days, I would think you were just lazy." She picked up her bow and a few arrows. She told the cub to stay, not that it indicated that it was going anywhere, and she stepped outside the cave. Just as she thought, there were a few nugs nearby and she returned with two.

As she skinned them, she could feel the cub staring at her. After butchering one, she approached the cub and offered a piece of the meat. It stared at the meat for a bit before getting up quickly and taking it. "I had heard that your kind were quickly weaned. You're still small though, so you must only be about three months old." The cub made quick work of the piece and stared at her. "Want some more?" She brought over the rest of the freshly butchered nug and placed it in front of the cub. "There, all yours." While the cub dug in, she went to work on the other nug.

She cooked some of the meat for herself but gave the rest to the cub when it had finished eating the first. "If you end up sticking with me, I'll need to go hunting more often." The cub just ignored her. When she was done eating, she laid out on her bedroll. She glanced at the cub before closing her eyes. _Wonder if it'll still be there in the morning._

The next morning, Mel awoke to the feeling of having difficulty breathing. Something had settled on her chest. She opened her eyes to discover the sleeping form of the red lion cub. She lifted a hand and gently ran it through the striped fur. The cat's ears flicked and its eyes opened, fixing on her face.

"So you decided to stay? Of course, you're still too young to hunt on your own but I would've thought you had your fill of humans." The cub continued to just stare at her but Mel had the feeling that it understood her. Even if she hadn't read that red lions were incredibly intelligent creatures, she would've recognized it in those golden eyes.

"Well, I can't keep calling you 'it' or 'the cub'. I didn't really check last night what gender you are." The cub appeared insulted and jumped off her chest. She sat up and watched it stroll to the mouth of the cave where it lifted a leg, peed, and looked back at her.

"Okay, smartass. You're a boy. Should've figured that out with the attitude." She stared at him thoughtfully. "You know, you're fur color reminds me of one of my friends back home. His hair was a similar russet shade, though minus the black stripes." She closed her eyes as tears gathered in them at the memory of all those she left behind when she fled the Free Marches a month ago. She opened them in shock when she felt something rub against her side and found that the cub was leaning against her.

"What do you think of being called Fenthorn? Fen for short?" The cub climbed into her lap and began to purr. "I'll take that as a yes."

 **Note: Mel's story continues in "The Warden"**


End file.
